My Supercar! Well, Skoda Citigo. Close enough!
Discussion
Looking through my other readers car posts, I decided that it was about time that my beloved Skoda got its own thread! Now I know it isn't really the kind of car you'd associate with this community but I think it deserves a mention - its a fab little car!
I got this back in September 2013 on a business lease. £101 per month for 3 years with 8,000 mile per year limit - its also on company insurance.
Performance
Powered by a 1.0 3 cylinder engine, the Citigo produces a DIZZYING 75bhp - so its not for the feint hearted!
All jokes aside, contrary to what some reviews have said I think its a perfectly adequate amount of power, it feels pretty punchy, likes to be revved and credit where credits due it sounds pretty good too!
Handling
It doesn't win any awards here, as you'd expect! It understeers quite a lot and there is some noticeable body roll too - I can forgive it though, its hardly designed to be taken on a track day!
Comfort
The biggest shock - its incredibly comfortable, it has really forgiving suspension and soaks up all the bumps and when you're cruising along its SILENT at lower speeds, even at 80mph at 4,000RPM its pretty quiet too, if it had cruise control I'd happily do a motorway commute in it if need be!
Toys
I have no idea whats standard or whats an option, I just went for the cheapest lease I could find - the heated seats are great... It also has an AUX input and AC... The only other toy it has is the optional Sat Nav system, its not a built in screen like most cars but instead its a unit similar to a Tom Tom that plugs right into the dash and it works really well for what it is - not only is it a Sat Nav but it also shows you information about your current MPG, trip length, average speed etc.
Costs
As I said, £101 per month. I spend about £20 a week on fuel to commute with it. By comparison my RX-8 costs £90 a week in fuel for commuting, so I've only got to take this to work for a week and a half a month to make my money back on it as far as I'm concerned. It was only leased so I had a car to carry the dog around in and also to occasionally take to work!
The best I've had out of it is 73mpg over a 1 month period which as you can imagine involved a lot of eco-driving, trying not to brake or accelerate where possible. Generally speaking, I tend to press on and do regularly take it to the redline and have fun with it - but even then I get a smidge under 50mpg on average!
In conclusion...
A pretty brief thread on what is realistically a run of the mill supermini - but I have to say its a great car, there have been plenty of times where I opted to take it for a nice hoon instead of the RX-7 or RX-8 just because you can drive it on the limit at legal speeds!
And yes... its GREEEEEEEEEEEN
Teaching the dog to drive so she can take herself to the park:
Annnnnnd a few more photos in case you've forgotten what it looks like!
I got this back in September 2013 on a business lease. £101 per month for 3 years with 8,000 mile per year limit - its also on company insurance.
Performance
Powered by a 1.0 3 cylinder engine, the Citigo produces a DIZZYING 75bhp - so its not for the feint hearted!
All jokes aside, contrary to what some reviews have said I think its a perfectly adequate amount of power, it feels pretty punchy, likes to be revved and credit where credits due it sounds pretty good too!
Handling
It doesn't win any awards here, as you'd expect! It understeers quite a lot and there is some noticeable body roll too - I can forgive it though, its hardly designed to be taken on a track day!
Comfort
The biggest shock - its incredibly comfortable, it has really forgiving suspension and soaks up all the bumps and when you're cruising along its SILENT at lower speeds, even at 80mph at 4,000RPM its pretty quiet too, if it had cruise control I'd happily do a motorway commute in it if need be!
Toys
I have no idea whats standard or whats an option, I just went for the cheapest lease I could find - the heated seats are great... It also has an AUX input and AC... The only other toy it has is the optional Sat Nav system, its not a built in screen like most cars but instead its a unit similar to a Tom Tom that plugs right into the dash and it works really well for what it is - not only is it a Sat Nav but it also shows you information about your current MPG, trip length, average speed etc.
Costs
As I said, £101 per month. I spend about £20 a week on fuel to commute with it. By comparison my RX-8 costs £90 a week in fuel for commuting, so I've only got to take this to work for a week and a half a month to make my money back on it as far as I'm concerned. It was only leased so I had a car to carry the dog around in and also to occasionally take to work!
The best I've had out of it is 73mpg over a 1 month period which as you can imagine involved a lot of eco-driving, trying not to brake or accelerate where possible. Generally speaking, I tend to press on and do regularly take it to the redline and have fun with it - but even then I get a smidge under 50mpg on average!
In conclusion...
A pretty brief thread on what is realistically a run of the mill supermini - but I have to say its a great car, there have been plenty of times where I opted to take it for a nice hoon instead of the RX-7 or RX-8 just because you can drive it on the limit at legal speeds!
And yes... its GREEEEEEEEEEEN
Teaching the dog to drive so she can take herself to the park:
Annnnnnd a few more photos in case you've forgotten what it looks like!
krallicious said:
I have driven the UP! a few times and have been impressed. The only thing that annoys me is the gearbox. How do you find it?
Its adequate - but relative to the type of car I think its pretty good, a 6th gear would be nice - also I wouldn't mind if it had a bit more feel - its so light you never know if its definitely in gear!Munter said:
I like this kind of car because they are "does what it says on the tin" cars (judging from your write up).
This 100% - best way to some it up. Its a simple honest car that does what it was designed to do very well!TaylotS2K said:
I found the UP had a nicer interior.
Indeed, it does. I've looked at the up since and they're much nicer inside - they're cheaper to lease now too, at the time the Citigo was cheaper! Oh well!How are you getting on with the citigo can I ask? Still a good experience?
I've been mulling over my options and one of them is to lease something like this, with a similar theory to yours that the fuel saving more or less pays for me to own it and keep miles off a more interesting car.
I did have one as a courtesy car from the body shop a while back and I was impressed at how refined it was on the motorway for such a tiny car - I work nights so if I use it for commuting it would hopefully be adequate for the journey/clear roads...
I've been mulling over my options and one of them is to lease something like this, with a similar theory to yours that the fuel saving more or less pays for me to own it and keep miles off a more interesting car.
I did have one as a courtesy car from the body shop a while back and I was impressed at how refined it was on the motorway for such a tiny car - I work nights so if I use it for commuting it would hopefully be adequate for the journey/clear roads...
Ghost91 said:
How are you getting on with the citigo can I ask? Still a good experience?
I've been mulling over my options and one of them is to lease something like this, with a similar theory to yours that the fuel saving more or less pays for me to own it and keep miles off a more interesting car.
I did have one as a courtesy car from the body shop a while back and I was impressed at how refined it was on the motorway for such a tiny car - I work nights so if I use it for commuting it would hopefully be adequate for the journey/clear roads...
A few months later I ended up buying an MX-5 for shed money which became my daily driver... So the little Skoda has kind of been made redundant since - it does still get used, however, not as much...I've been mulling over my options and one of them is to lease something like this, with a similar theory to yours that the fuel saving more or less pays for me to own it and keep miles off a more interesting car.
I did have one as a courtesy car from the body shop a while back and I was impressed at how refined it was on the motorway for such a tiny car - I work nights so if I use it for commuting it would hopefully be adequate for the journey/clear roads...
...And I still absolutely love it. 50MPG without even trying and up to an amazing 75mpg if you really try - nobody can argue with that! I've had 2 6 footers in the back for a 100 mile journey and there were no complaints about leg room, the boot space is adequate for what I require, its easy to get the dog in and out of... For the money it really is the perfect little car.
In October, when the MX-5 had no brakes and the race car was in pieces I even took the CitiGo on a track day at Castle Combe and it was brilliant! Ok, so it was understeer galore but it did perform well! Despite thick black smoke pouring from the brakes I didn't experience any fade, and despite spending several hours with the tyres squealing they still look brand new! I was mighty impressed with how it coped bouncing off the limiter for an entire day - and it still managed 39MPG!
I'd love it if they made a hot one that sorted out the understeer and added an extra 50bhp!
Max M4X WW said:
Looks great, is it a green version? 50mpg all day long sounds good.
Its actually a red version Skoda gave me one of these whilst my Octy VRS was in for some work, ended up being 2 weeks, 1500 miles and a trip from Manchester to Scotland in it. At the end of which I was very impressed with the little thing!
The one I had was identical to yours. The only thing I found was that people would often 'bully' you on the road, cut in front, not let you out, get right up your arse etc. Other than that I loved it, strangely addictive noise they make as well
The one I had was identical to yours. The only thing I found was that people would often 'bully' you on the road, cut in front, not let you out, get right up your arse etc. Other than that I loved it, strangely addictive noise they make as well
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